Tia Sharp’s killer trembled in the dock yesterday as he was jailed for a minimum of 38 years for the ‘degrading’ murder of the 12-year-old.

Sex fiend Stuart Hazell’s legs shook as a judge told him he had taken the life of a ‘sparky girl who was full of life’.

Tia’s grandfather, Stephen Carter, beat his chest with his fist and shouted ‘beast’ from the public gallery as Hazell was taken down to the cells from Court Two of the Old Bailey.

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Jailed: A court sketch captures the moment Stuart Hazell was taken down after being sentenced to 38 years, as Tia Sharp's grandfather Stephen Carter shouted 'beast'

Tia's sobbing family shouted 'yes' as a trembling Hazell was taken down from the dock

Sentenced: Stuart Hazell's life sentence prompted Tia's father Steven Carter to punch the air after he left court

Bereft: The mother of Tia Sharp, Natalie Sharp (right), hugs a loved one outside the Old Bailey after her child's killer was jailed

Murdered: Ti Sharp, 12, was smothered by Stuart Hazell who then dumped her body in the loft

Hazell, the boyfriend of Tia’s
grandmother Christine Bicknell, was sentenced after he dramatically
changed his plea five days into his trial for murdering the schoolgirl.

Motive: The judge said Hazell had developed a sexual attraction to Tia Sharp but was unsure if that was the motive for the murder

The 37-year-old smothered Tia in the
early hours of August 3 last year after being left alone to babysit her
while Miss Bicknell worked overnight at a care home.

He photographed the schoolgirl’s
naked body before wrapping it in sheets and bin liners and hiding it in
the loft, where it was found a week later during the fourth police
search of the house.

Mr Justice Nicol told Hazell: ‘All that lay ahead of her – a career, loves and family of her own – will now never be.

‘And the loss of her has been devastating for her mother, her father and all her relatives and friends.

‘The tragedy of their loss and her death is because of your act in murdering Tia Sharp. You are responsible.’

Hazell gained access to Tia after
going out first with her mother and then moving on to her grandmother,
who he shared a home with in New Addington, South London.

In the weeks before the murder, he
repeatedly photographed and filmed Tia as she slept and videoed her as
she rubbed cream on her legs in her underwear.

Police also found searches including
the terms ‘naked little girlies’, ‘illegal under-age incest pics’ and
‘schoolgirl abuse’ on the web browser of his mobile phone.

Motive: The judge said Hazell, who was the boyfriend of Tia's grandmother Christine Bicknell (pictured outside court today left), had a sexual attraction to the 12-year-old but was unsure if that was why he killed her

Comforted: Tia's father Steven Carter broke down at today's sentencing and was hugged by his girlfriend during the emotional hearing at the Old Bailey

After the murder, he told Miss Bicknell that Tia had gone shopping in Croydon and had left without her phone.

He continued to lie about having any involvement in her disappearance until her body was discovered.

Tia’s mother, Natalie Sharp, sat
impassively in the court less than ten feet from Hazell as the judge
told him the murder was aggravated by his ‘gross abuse of trust’.

VIDEO: TIA SHARP'S FAMILY ARRIVES AT COURT FOR SENTENCING

Distraught: Tia's mother Natalie arrives at court with her brother David (right) and partner David Niles behind

He said: ‘Tia’s mother allowed her to
come and stay with you because she trusted you to look after her.
Christine was at work that night, she trusted you to look after her.

‘By first sexually assaulting and then killing Tia you betrayed that trust in the most grievous way possible.’

He added: ‘There is no doubt that you
had developed a sexual interest in Tia. The records of your internet
searching on your mobile phone make abundantly clear that you were
looking out for pornographic pictures of pre-teen girls, which Tia was.

‘Pornographic pictures of girls who
wore glasses, which Tia did, even pictures involving incest.’ But the
judge did not impose a whole-life jail term because he could not be sure
that Tia’s murder was sexually motivated and it could not be proved to
the criminal standard that the photograph of the youngster was taken
after she died.

Anger: Tia's father Steven Carter (pictured right with his father Stephen) says Stuart Hazell should be 'hung' for what he did to his daughter

Brother: Stuart Hazell, aged five, left, with his sister and brother at a children's home in Twickenham, south-west London

Boy racer: Hazell, pictured as a young child, is the son of a prostitute and a criminal and grew up in care

Games: The killer pictured on a holiday on the Isle of Wight aged 18 - two years after his first conviction

The judge gave Hazell the most ‘modest of credit’ for changing his plea to guilty because it came five days into the trial.

He told him: ‘It was necessary for
the prosecution to lay out for the jury your sexual interest in Tia and
for the jury to see the photograph of Tia naked. Your plea of guilty
has spared the family none of that.’

Tia’s father, Steven Carter, who
clenched his fist as the judge read out the sentence, said outside
court: ‘It’s not justice – justice would be if she would be here.’

‘Hazell will have a very long time in prison to think about what he has done.’

Murder scene: The house belonging to Tia's grandmother where her body was found in the loft will now be bulldozed

Ms Bicknell said today she thought Hazell was her 'soulmate', but now wanted him to suffer every day for the rest of
his life for killing an innocent girl who 'idolised him'.

‘I let my
baby down and I will never be able to get over that. I spent five nights
in that house being cuddled and comforted by the man I loved, praying
for Tia to come home safely,' she said.

Tia’s mother, Natalie, told
the Daily Mail: ‘The verdict has come as a huge surprise. We expected
him to drag it out until the bitter end.

‘We are hoping he gets life in prison and that he is never let out.’

Hazell, the son of a prostitute and
criminal, was placed in foster care at the age of four and spent his
childhood being passed between social services, a foster mother and his
father.

He fell into a life of crime, receiving his first conviction in May 1991, when he was only 16.

By the time he was reunited with his
mother at the age of 18 she was too concerned about his interest in
young girls to leave him alone with her other children.

He ended up fleeing the house after stealing thousands of pounds.

Memories: Other pictures today showed the tragic schoolgirl (left) as a baby and a toddler (right)

Family: New pictures show Tia Sharp getting a cake from her mother Natalie Sharp on her birthday

Hazell’s first contact with the Sharp family came through Miss Bicknell who worked in a South London pub.

Tia’s mother also visited the pub, and
Hazell initially went out with her for a fortnight in 2002, something
Miss Bicknell insisted she never had an issue with.

The subsequent relationship with her began in 2007, and Hazell moved into her home in New Addington, Croydon, a week later.

Hazell’s life of crime continued despite settling down at Miss Bicknell’s house.

But he also played the role of step
grandfather with aplomb, allowing him to spend the night alone with the
12-year-old as a ‘babysitter’.

Deception: Stuart Hazell made a TV appearance where he begged for the safe return of Tia, despite having murdered her days earlier

Tragic: Tia Sharp with Stuart Hazell, outside a fish and chip shop on the day she is believed to have died

VIDEO HAZELL'S INTERVIEW AND APPEAL TO FIND TIA BEFORE ARREST

New: Scotland Yard footage of Stuart Hazell's interview in police custody was released during the trial

Together: Tia Sharp can be seen on a shopping trip on August 2 with Hazell, her grandmother's former boyfriend and the man who today admitted her murder

Grim: Hazell sexually assaulted and murdered Tia later in the night following this shopping trip

Trial: Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Hazell meeting Tia in Croydon, shopping in a co-op store and taking a tram home to New Addington. The pair are pictured together

Miss Bicknell admitted Hazell smoked
two cannabis joints per day and that he would get ‘argumentative’ after
drinking vodka. Even when the youngster went missing and Hazell was the
only suspect, she continued to voice support for him in angry outbursts
to reporters outside her house, where, unbeknown to all but Hazell,
Tia’s body was hidden.

The family’s faith was shattered when
police finally made the grim discovery. Hazell was arrested, a few hours
later, drunk on a common in Colliers Wood.

In mitigation, Hazell made the most of
his harsh upbringing, with the court hearing how he had been raped
while in a care home as a teenager.

But the court had already heard from his former boss about how he was a ‘fantastic liar’.

Hazell also repeatedly insisted there was ‘nothing sexual’ in what happened.

And he criticised the Press for making
him appear like Jack the Ripper and Soham murderer Ian Huntley.

Hidden evidence: A memory card containing images and video of Tia as well as child porn was hidden in a cupboard door by Hazell

HOW THE SEARCH FOR TIA UNFOLDED: HAZELL'S LIES AND THE AGONY OF HER FAMILY

Investigation: A forensics officer outside the house of Tia's grandmother after her body was found there

Friday August 3 2012Tia
Sharp is seen leaving her grandmother Christine Bicknell's home in New
Addington, South-East London, at around midday. The 12-year-old told
relatives she was going to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon. It later
emerged that she was killed that night and her body stashed in the attic
of the house

Monday August 6Tia's family makes an emotional plea for her to return home as police find no trace of her on CCTV footage.

Tuesday August 7A
CCTV image of Tia outside the local Co-op is released as her
grandmother says she hopes it will jog someone's memory. The last person
who saw Tia is reported to be Ms Bicknell's partner, Stuart Hazell.

Wednesday August 8Police
take a German shepherd dog into Tia's grandmother's house. Volunteers
and members of the local community continue to hand out posters, wear
'Find Tia' T-shirts and conduct their own searches. Hazell, 37, is
voluntarily questioned by police.

Thursday August 9Police
search bins outside Tia's grandmother's home and around the estate
where she lives, using sticks to scour through rubbish. Hazell says he
was not the last person to see her and makes an emotional plea for her
to return home.

Friday August 10Two
detectives arrive at Tia's grandmother's house in the morning, leaving
30 minutes later with brown evidence bags. A police sniffer dog is
brought to the property. Police seal off the area around the house at
1pm for a 'pre-arranged search'. At 4.45pm police say they have found a
body at the house. Hazell is arrested and held on suspicion of murder.

Saturday August11Ms
Bicknell is questioned and Paul Meehan, a 39-year-old neighbour, is
taken into custody on suspicion of assisting an offender. The pair are
released on bail.

Sunday August12Hazell is charged with the murder of Tia Sharp and held in custody ahead of his first court appearance.

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Stuart Hazell sentenced: Tia Sharp's father punches the air and her mother sheds tears